The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday, in Ekiti State, flagged off the first pyramid in South West, with a vision to finance over three million rice farmers to boost production and improve the agriculture value chain in the country.
The Central Bank of Nigeria in line with its developmental function established the Anchor Borrowers’ Program (ABP) to create a linkage between small holder farmers (SHFs) of the required key agricultural commodities and anchor companies involved in the processing.
This came as Governors of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Mohammed Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa) and Gboyega Oyetola (Osun), described the programme as a good scheme that would reduce import and make Nigeria fully independent in food production.
CBN Governor, Dr. Godwin Emefiele, who spoke while unveiling the first rice pyramid in the South-West in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, said the anchor borrowers’ programme had expanded agriculture production for 21 crops across Nigeria.
He said that over three million farmers were being financed in the production of a variety of agric products that can improve the economy, provide jobs and increase Nigeria’s imports for foreign exchange earnings.
Emefiele said some governors had accessed N1.5 billion each to undertake such policy in their states.
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The CBN governor, who debunked the widespread rumour that some of the agriculture boosting programmes of President Muhammadu Buhari was concentrated in a section of the country, said that out of N700 billion earmarked for the Anchor Borrowers Programme, more than N300 billion had been disbursed in the southern part of the country for the expansion of food production.
“The CBN is positioned to ensure the integration of our farmers into the Government’s Economic Sustainability Program, aimed at providing 5 million homes with electricity using solar energy.”
“We believe significant improvements in domestic production of staple food items would help in attaining our price stability goals while reducing our dependence on imported food items.”
He urged Nigerian youths to get involved in agriculture as they have talent, energy, enthusiasm, technological adoption capacity and drive to revolutionize agricultural production in Nigeria.
He also urged farmers to repay loans promptly to ensure sustenance of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP).
The program thrust of the Anchor Borrowers’ Program is provision of farm inputs in kind and cash (for farm labor) to small holder farmers to boost production of these commodities, stabilize inputs supply to agro-processors and address the country’s negative balance of payments on food. At harvest, the small holder farmer supplies his/her produce to the Agro-processor (Anchor), who pays the cash equivalent to the farmer’s account.
